Samsung set to unveil smartphone with curved display

A woman stands behind a Samsung logo at Samsung Electronics Co. showroom inside its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Feb. 1, 2013. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL (AFP) -- Samsung said Wednesday it would unveil a smartphone with a curved display in October -- a technological innovation aimed at maintaining its lead in a lucrative but increasingly saturated market.

Curved displays are at a nascent stage in display technology which is shifting towards flexible panels that are bendable or can even be rolled or folded.

"We will introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October," Samsung mobile business head of strategic marketing D.J. Lee told reporters.

He declined to give more details.

Samsung -- the world's top maker of smartphones and TVs -- unveiled prototype products with a flexible screen in January.

But it still faces a major challenge in making other handset components -- such as batteries -- that can bend with the rest of the unit.

Curved displays are already commercially available in large-screen televisions offered by companies including Samsung and LG.

The displays are supposed to offer a more immersive viewing experience but are significantly more expensive than standard screens.

In another attempt to break new ground, Samsung unveiled earlier this month a smartwatch called Galaxy Gear, which can take photos and videos, make or take phone calls, or check e-mails.

Wearable computing, including Google's smart glasses, is considered the next frontier in consumer electronics following smartphones.

The watch received some scathing reviews, along with complaints that it only worked in conjunction with Samsung's latest oversized smartphone, the Galaxy Note III.

The Gear and the Galaxy Note III will hit stores in some 140 nations by the end of October, and Samsung executives said they were confident the critics could be won over.

"We received so much criticism when we first unveiled the Galaxy Note series...but it has created a whole new market segment for oversized smartphones," said Lee Young-Hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile unit.

D.J. Lee said the watch would be made connectable with other Samsung devices such as the flagship Galaxy S3 and S4 smartphones by the end of December.